REIQ slams rental law reforms

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) has expressed mixed feelings about the recently passed Stage 2 Rental Law Reforms, acknowledging that some of the proposed amendments were accepted, but believing the bill still has significant flaws.

“It’s pleasing to see some of the REIQ’s significant concerns were addressed by a suite of eleventh-hour amendments to the legislation,” said REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella (pictured above).

Wins for REIQ

REIQ secured several important amendments:

• An amendment allows invoices based on estimated water usage at the end of tenancy, preventing landlords from paying tenants’ water bills.
• Tenants can continue paying rent more than four weeks in advance, avoiding excessive manual monitoring by property managers.
• The storage time frame for renter’s personal information was increased from three to seven years.
• Structural changes or fixtures in apartments require body corporate approval.
• Continuing professional development (CPD) for real estate professionals was introduced, a significant win after a decade of REIQ advocacy.

See LinkedIn post here.

REIQ’s ongoing concerns

Despite these victories, the REIQ remains concerned about several aspects of the legislation:

• A new maximum rental bond limit could lead to an administrative burden, which Mercorella said “may lead to an avalanche of refund requests from tenants with bonds higher than the new limit.”
• New provisions for rent increase frequency limits were introduced retrospectively, without adequate notice for lessors.
• Changes to reletting fees could increase costs for tenants.
• Attaching rent increases to the property rather than the tenancy may cause rents to inflate.

Call for better consultation

Mercorella criticised the lack of consultation in drafting the bill.

“The RTRAOLA Bill was hastily drafted and tabled without consultation with key stakeholders,” she said.

She stressed the importance of stakeholder engagement to ensure practical and fair legislation.

Read the REIQ announcement here.

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